2024 Mazda 3 G20 Touring review

Hatches have lengthy dominated the small automotive section, however if you happen to want a sedan you’re surprisingly nonetheless spoilt for selection.

Not Supplied — 2024 Mazda 3 G20 Touring Credit score: CarExpert

At the same time as sedans recede in recognition as SUVs proceed to take maintain, you’ll be able to nonetheless purchase each member of the Mazda 3 household in sedan guise.

Not solely that, however you will get sedan variations of the Hyundai i30, Kia Cerato and Toyota Corolla, whereas the section has even grown to incorporate a brand new cut-price rival to those automobiles within the form of the MG 5.

Sedans appear to enchantment to a extra conventional type of client, and we suspect the Mazda 3’s design will enchantment to such a purchaser.

The place the hatch is polarising, the sedan is elegant, underscored by way of chrome trim for distinction as a substitute of black. Personally, I believe this is without doubt one of the best-looking small sedans in current historical past.

The extra conventional styling of the sedan additionally has sensible advantages, too, providing higher visibility.

Mazda just lately pruned its small hatch and sedan vary considerably, however you’ll be able to nonetheless purchase a Mazda 3 sedan in one in all six trim ranges with one in all two engines.

Right here, we’ve put to the check a G20 Touring, which signifies the best degree of specification obtainable with the smaller of the 2 engines.

How a lot does the Mazda 3 value?

The 2024 Mazda G20 Touring Sedan on check is priced from $34,520 plus on-road prices. The selection between hatch and sedan our bodies throughout the vary is a no-cost possibility.

2024 Mazda 3 pricing:

2024 Mazda 3 G20 Pure: $30,320
2024 Mazda 3 G20 Evolve: $31,870
2024 Mazda 3 G20 Touring: $34,520
2024 Mazda 3 G25 Evolve SP: $34,520
2024 Mazda 3 G25 GT: $38,420
2024 Mazda 3 G25 Astina: $42,320

Costs are earlier than on-road prices

The non-compulsory Imaginative and prescient Expertise package deal ($2000) fitted to this tester provides:

Encompass-view digital camera
Cruising & Site visitors Help
Driver monitoring
Entrance cross-traffic alert
Entrance parking sensors
10.25-inch Mazda Join infotainment display

To see how the Mazda 3 compares with its rivals, line it up in opposition to its rivals utilizing our comparability instrument.

What’s the Mazda 3 like on the within?

Towards the Mazda 3, rivals just like the Kia Cerato and Hyundai i30 Sedan really feel virtually low-rent. Heck, even some premium-brand rivals might be taught a factor or two.

This can be a genuinely stylish inside, with glorious materials high quality. All the sprint prime is soft-touch, whereas there’s comfortable leather-look trim on the perimeters of the centre console the place your knee may contact it.

There’s laborious plastic trim the place you’d often count on to see it, such because the decrease reaches of the sprint and doorways. However surprisingly even the rear door tops are completed in soft-touch plastic, one thing we’ve seen a few luxury-brand fashions skimp on.

The one materials selection we’d query is the usage of gloss-black trim on the centre console, which rapidly confirmed smudges.

When you’re carried out poking and prodding each floor – that’s a superbly regular factor all of us do, proper? – you’ll discover the expertise within the Mazda 3 to be of a excessive customary.

The infotainment system has enticing graphics and a logical consumer interface simply navigable utilizing the tactile rotary dial. With the Imaginative and prescient Expertise package deal added, the G20 Touring upgrades to a bigger 10.25-inch (as a substitute of 8.8-inch) display.

The display is located fairly distant from the motive force. That wasn’t an issue when it lacked contact performance however now you’ll be able to – hallelujah – use it as a touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

That was at all times a sore spot with the three as, whereas all different capabilities are simply controllable utilizing the rotary dial on the centre console, smartphone mirroring is terribly cumbersome to make use of with out having the ability to contact a display. However do you have to wish to contact the display, it’s an extended attain.

Digital camera high quality is class-leading, with crisp, high-resolution footage. The G20 Touring additionally options two USB-C retailers.

The instrument cluster combines a digital display with analogue gauges. It’s not as flashy as some rivals’ full-digital setups, but it surely’s legible and has an aesthetic, conventional look.

The Mazda 3’s switchgear is mostly fairly good. The local weather controls are tactile, with correct buttons and knobs that really feel good to make use of. The drive mode selector is pleasant, too.

There are a few button blanks, however they don’t stick out like a sore thumb. I’m not a fan of the steering wheel switchgear, which feels a bit plasticky and awkward to make use of.

At the least the wheel itself is sweet, being leather-wrapped and well-sized. The stalks behind it are properly damped, and Mazda has cleverly included a lightweight within the wiper stalk to point if the wipers are in auto mode – such a easy element most manufacturers don’t trouble with.

The roomy Kia Cerato sedan makes you marvel “why would anyone trouble with a mid-sized sedan?”. The Mazda 3 sedan makes you assume, “Oh, that’s why.”

That’s to not say it’s cramped, and even the worst within the section. I felt I had extra headroom within the backseat of the Mazda than in a Corolla, and the entrance seatbacks are helpfully scooped out, however however that is nonetheless much less spacious than a Cerato.

It’s actually nicer again right here than within the Mazda 3 hatch, nevertheless. The hatch’s thick C-pillar provides the again seat a darkish, gloomy really feel, in distinction to the airier sedan. However, you’ll be able to see why the CX-30 has overtaken the three in gross sales, constructing on the strengths of the latter whereas including a extra sensible cabin that’s simpler to get out and in of.

There are three top-tether and two ISOFIX anchor factors for little one seats, and as with all Mazda 3s bar the bottom G20 Pure there are rear air vents and a fold-down centre armrest.

Boot house is 444L, which is lower than a Cerato (502L), i30 Sedan (474L) or Corolla (470L). The opening can be fairly small.

What’s beneath the bonnet?

The Mazda 3 G20 Touring includes a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 114kW of energy at 6000rpm and 200Nm of torque at 4000rpm. Following a current pruning of the Mazda 3 vary, the one transmission obtainable is a six-speed automated.

You’ll be able to nonetheless step as much as a G25 mannequin, although, which upgrades to a 2.5-litre 4 with 139kW and 252Nm.

Claimed mixed cycle gasoline economic system within the G20 Touring is 5.8L/100km. General, we averaged 6.6L/100km with a mixture of inner-city, suburban and freeway driving.

The Mazda 3 runs on 91 RON common unleaded gasoline and has a 51L gasoline tank.

How does the Mazda 3 drive?

Right here’s the place the Mazda 3’s little limousine act stumbles.

We’re not stunned the Mazda 3 errs extra on the facet of sportiness than luxurious isolation – that is the Zoom-Zoom model, in spite of everything. What we’re stunned by, nevertheless, is how a lot tyre roar will get into the cabin.

The Mazda 3 merely will get too noisy, and it’s disappointing for a automobile with premium overtones.

The engine additionally makes a racket if you first begin it up, with an virtually diesel-like idle. Whenever you’re on the transfer it sounds a lot better, however we’d cease in need of calling it sonorous.

The efficiency from this engine is satisfactory. It felt gradual at first, although I received used to it. Nonetheless, I discovered myself flicking the neat drive mode swap into Sport mode if I needed to make a niche in visitors.

It’s additionally mated to a transmission that’s typically competent, however during which we often noticed lower than clean shifts.

The experience high quality is common, too. It’s agency general, and may really feel a bit fidgety on coarser-chip roads with the torsion-beam rear suspension not absorbing impacts in addition to some rivals’ multi-link setups.

The Mazda 3 is pleasurable to drive, although we’d steer you in the direction of the extra highly effective 2.5-litre for extra pleasure.

The steering is a bit heavy, and doesn’t loosen up a lot at low speeds. Meaning it mightn’t be the best automobile to steer round a decent automotive park, but it surely provides the automotive a pleasant, sporty really feel.

Flip-in is sharp, and the Mazda 3 stays flat in corners with glorious physique management.

The adaptive cruise management works properly along side the lane centring perform, which will be simply turned on and off. Simply be warned the latter will ding each time it could possibly’t detect lane markings, so on nation roads it proved annoying. It’s additionally not fairly as assertive as Hyundai’s Lane Following Help, and struggled a bit with curved roads.

The common lane-keep help perform works properly, flashing up a warning mild within the instrument cluster if you happen to cross a lane marking and making use of slight corrections ot the steering.

The Mazda 3 additionally options driver consideration monitoring, but it surely’s well-calibrated and solely chided me once I really appeared away from the highway (and I promise I didn’t do that always!).

What do you get?

G20 Pure highlights:

16-inch alloy wheels
Automated LED headlights
Automated high-beam
Energy-folding exterior mirrors
Rain-sensing wipers
7.0-inch instrument cluster display
8.8-inch infotainment display
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Satellite tv for pc navigation
DAB+ digital radio
8-speaker sound system
Keyless begin
Leather-based-wrapped steering wheel and shifter
Material upholstery

G20 Evolve provides:

18-inch alloy wheels
Twin-zone local weather management
Auto-dimming inside rear-view mirror
Paddle shifters
Centre fold-down armrest

G20 Touring provides:

Keyless entry with walk-away locking perform
Auto-dimming exterior mirrors with heating, reverse tilt-down perform
Black leather-based upholstery
10-way energy driver’s seat
Wi-fi cellphone charger
Wi-fi, wired Apple CarPlay
Wi-fi, wired Android Auto

The G25 Evolve SP goes with out the leather-based upholstery, however is in any other case virtually an identical in tools.

Imaginative and prescient Expertise Package deal provides:

Encompass-view digital camera
10.25-inch infotainment display
Cruising & Site visitors Help
Driver consideration monitoring
Entrance parking sensors
Entrance cross-traffic alert

Is the Mazda 3 secure?

The Mazda 3 has a five-star security score from ANCAP, primarily based on testing carried out in 2019.

Customary security tools on all Mazda 3 fashions contains:

Adaptive cruise management with cease/go
Entrance, front-side, curtain and driver’s knee airbags
Autonomous emergency braking (ahead and reverse)
Blind-spot monitoring
Driver consideration alert
Lane-keep help
Rear cross-traffic help
Reversing digital camera
Rear parking sensors
Site visitors signal recognition

As talked about, the non-compulsory Imaginative and prescient Expertise package deal provides Cruising & Site visitors Help, which is a Stage 2 autonomous driving characteristic that mixes adaptive cruise management and lane-centring.

It additionally provides driver consideration monitoring, a surround-view digital camera, entrance parking sensors and entrance cross-traffic alert.

How a lot does the Mazda 3 value to run?

The Mazda 3 is backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee.

Mazda additionally gives seven years or 105,000km of capped-price servicing. Servicing is required each 12 months or 15,000km, with the primary seven providers capped at $334, $530, $414, $530, $334, $609 and $334, respectively.

That’s a complete value of $3085 over seven years, whereas a Cerato 2.0L will set you again $2970 and an i30 Sedan 2.0L $2344.

CarExpert’s Tackle the Mazda 3

With elegant exterior styling and a luxuriously appointed cabin, the Mazda 3 majors on showroom enchantment.

The lengthy record of security tools, notably with the non-compulsory Imaginative and prescient Expertise Package deal, additionally impresses.

However on the highway, the Mazda 3 disappoints with its boomy cabin, so-so efficiency, and a experience that might use extra finessing. Stepping as much as the two.5-litre engine mitigates a type of points, although it’s thirstier.

You received’t discover a nicer inside on this section, however you’ll find more room (Cerato), higher economic system (Corolla hybrid) and extra efficiency (i30 Sedan N Line). It’s as much as you to find out the place your priorities lie.

Should you love the Mazda 3, we’d steer you to the G25 Evolve SP. For a similar value, you lose leather-based trim however you get a extra highly effective engine.

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